Josh Allen being compared to JaMarcus Russell isn't as bad as it sounds

The 2018 NFL Draft is still a few months away, but already teams are breaking down every bit of game film they can on potential draft prospects.

With the NFL Scouting Combine this week in Indianapolis, all 32 NFL teams will have a chance to see this year’s crop of players up close and personal. Those at the top, like the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, will be keeping an especially close eye on guys like Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen, who are three of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft.

Each one brings their own skill-set to the table and, as is inevitably the case when it comes to the draft, analysts are already looking to draw comparisons between this year’s players and past draftees.

And, if you are Josh Allen, the last player you want to be compared to is notorious draft bust JaMarcus Russell, but that’s exactly the comparison NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock made, although it’s not as bad as it sounds.

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Speaking to reporters on a conference call Monday, Mayock touted Josh Allen as the ‘biggest-arm quarterback’ he’s seen since Raiders draft bust and former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell entered the league just over a decade ago.

Mayock was essentially using the comparison to emphasize the arm strength of Allen and why that alone should have him in the running for the top spot. Given that Cleveland is a cold weather city where throwing downfield in frigid and windy conditions is the norm, a quarterback with a big arm is exactly what the Browns need.

Hopefully, the comparisons between Allen and Russell stop there, at least for Allen’s sake.